Introduction: In response to a strong focus on suicide prevention for all veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently revised policy to provide emergency mental healthcare for veterans who received Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharges from the military. This current study takes a preliminary step toward identifying demographic, historic, military, clinical, and social characteristics of veterans with OTH discharges. Materials and Methods: N = 1,172 Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans were evaluated between 2005 and 2016 in the multi-site VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) Study of Post-Deployment Mental Health (PDMH Study)...

During the past decades, the use/misuse of opioids has increased dramatically among adolescent population. It is now well acknowledged that various morphological and physiological changes occur in the brain during adolescence. During this critical period, brain development and maturation could be affected by several factors including stress, drug abuse, nutritional status, etc. Although studies on transgenerational effects of substances such as alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine have focused on both paternal and maternal drug exposure, most reports on transgenerational effects of morphine are restricted to maternal exposure...

BACKGROUND: We aimed to complete a nationally representative study of sexual violence against children in South Africa, and its correlates, since we could identify no other such study. METHODS: For this nationally representative, cross-sectional study in South Africa, households were selected by use of a multistage sampling frame, stratified by province, urban or rural setting, and race group, and schools were selected on the basis that they were closest to the area in which households were selected...

BACKGROUND: Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) experience chronic pain and have significant physical, emotional and psychological disease impact. These patients may be at risk for substance abuse. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate substance use disorder (SUD) among HS patients in the United States. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of adult HS patients (n = 32,625) identified using electronic health records data from a population-based sample of over 50 million patients...

Tianeptine is an atypical antidepressant approved in 25 countries for the treatment of depressive syndromes. Tianeptine abuse among psychiatric patients in the community and at inpatient wards has been increasingly reported in recent years. The purpose of this article is to alert clinicians to tianeptine abuse potential and identify any patterns in the literature. We searched the Academic Search Complete, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, Science Citation Index, Scopus, and the Social Sciences Citation Index for articles published between 1960-2017 in any language containing the keywords: "tianeptine abuse," "tianeptine misuse," "tianeptine dependence...

BACKGROUND: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) remains a critical public health issue among black and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM), as it is associated with multiple negative outcomes including substance misuse, poor mental health, revictimization, and high-risk sexual behavior. Most CSA research with MSM relies on quantitative assessment that often precludes consideration of cultural variations in how formative sexual experiences are understood and is based on inconsistent or overly restrictive definitions of abuse, and therefore may fail to detect certain abusive experiences (eg, those involving female perpetrators), which can have harmful health consequences if they remain unrecognized...

AIM: To add to our knowledge concerning the key elements involved in the individual's experience of growing up with substance abusing parents and the resulting challenges this involved for their own parenthood. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 parents who had participated in a mental health intervention programme. All had experienced substance abusing parents in their family of origin. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data...

Despite the fact that sports organizations and legislators have introduced various mechanisms to discourage athletes from using performance and appearance enhancing substances a high percentage of athletes admits to their unabated application. In competitive athletics, bodybuilding and in recreational sports anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) continue to be the substances most abused. This review summarizes the side effects of AAS abuse on organs and system functions in both sexes. High doses of AAS cause a significant increase of erythrocytes und haemoglobin concentration, which may lead to thromboembolism, intracardiac thrombosis and stroke...

BACKGROUND: The opioid epidemic is rapidly evolving and new tools are needed to combat drug abuse. The Maine Diversion Alert Program (DAP) is an informational resource that facilitates communication about drug arrests between the criminal justice and healthcare fields. The objectives of this report were to: (1) describe the illegal and prescription pharmaceuticals reported to the DAP; (2) determine if the drugs implicated in arrests changed from the first to latter half of 2016; (3) identify the demographic and other characteristics of arrestees; and (4) outline the strengths and limitations of the DAP for other areas considering implementing similar programs...

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND: Cannabis is the most commonly abused illicit drug and accounts for the greatest number of adolescent substance abuse treatment admissions. Despite urgent need for effective interventions, the best available psychosocial treatment options yield only modest effects. Topiramate showed promise as an adjunctive pharmacotherapy to a psychosocial intervention for cannabis misuse among adolescents and young adults in a recent clinical trial, but it was not well tolerated. This study investigated associations between clinical characteristics and side effects and dropout among adolescents and young adults randomized to topiramate...

BACKGROUND: Rates of both opioid and sedative use and misuse are rising. Comorbid opioid and sedative use is associated with especially severe consequences (e.g., overdose and poor health outcomes). Heroin users report multiple motivations for sedative use, including self-medication. We aimed to understand differences in lifetime substance use characteristics between heroin users with different sedative use histories. METHODS: Substance use data were collected from 385 non-treatment seeking heroin users...

BACKGROUND: Up to 75% of people with serious mental illness (SMI) such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have co-occurring substance use disorders (dual diagnosis). Dual diagnosis can have an adverse effect on treatment and prognosis of SMI. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of risperidone compared to treatment with other antipsychotics (first-generation and other second-generation antipsychotics) used in people with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance misuse...

Pregnancy can be a motivation for decrease in drug abusing but may also represent a period of high vulnerability for relapse.We aimed to assess psychoactive substance use among women with substance use disorders followed in addiction care centers in France. We analyzed data from women aged 15-44 years included in the 'Observation of illegal drugs and misuse of psychotropic medication survey' (OPPIDUM), an annualcross-sectional survey collecting details on psychoactive substances used. Characteristics of women included in 2005 to 2012 yearly surveys were compared depending on their pregnant or not pregnant status...

CONTEXT: Opioids represent a drug class that adolescents and young adults intentionally misuse and abuse. When taken on their own or with other substances in this manner, opioids pose an increased risk of overdose and potential death. OBJECTIVE: To determine trends of opioid drug poisonings among adolescents and young adults in Ohio from 2002 to 2014 using Poison Control Center (PCC) data. METHODS: Data were obtained from Ohio PCCs from 2002 to 2014 for opioid drug poisonings amongst 10-29 year olds...

BACKGROUND: There is a well-established inverse relationship in undergraduate samples between a person's religious coping and substance abuse. Positive religious coping (PRC) has been associated with decreases in the use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. Investigations examining prescription drug misuse and PRC found that higher levels of PRC were related to a reduction in the misuse of some prescription drugs. However, the literature has yet to identify an inverse relationship between PRC and the misuse of prescription stimulants (MPS) among undergraduates...

Childhood abuse is a common experience for youth in the child welfare system, increasing their risk of bullying perpetration and victimization. Little research exists that has examined the rates of bullying perpetration and victimization for child welfare-involved adolescent girls. The study addressed the following aims: (a) to generate frequency estimates of physical, nonphysical, and relational forms of bullying perpetration and victimization; (b) to identify the frequency of bully-only, victim-only, bully-victim, and noninvolved roles; and (c) to identify risk and protective factors that correlate with these bullying role types...

OBJECTIVE: The use of dietary supplements has increased and is associated with adverse effects. Indications for use include recreation, body image concerns, mood enhancement, or control of medical conditions. The risk of adverse effects may be enhanced if agents are used improperly. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of abuse and misuse of 4 dietary substances among adolescents reported nationally to poison centers. Secondary outcomes included an assessment of medical outcomes, clinical effects, location of treatments provided, and treatments administered...

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the use of recreational synthetic psychoactive substances, which is a cause of concern among healthcare providers and legal authorities. In particular, there have been reports on the misuse of 5-(2-aminopropyl)indole (5-API; 5-IT), a new synthetic drug, and of fatal and non-fatal intoxication. Despite these reports, little is known about its psychopharmacological effects and abuse potential. Here, we investigated the abuse potential of 5-IT by evaluating its rewarding and reinforcing effects through conditioned place preference (CPP) (1, 10, and 30 mg/kg, i...

BACKGROUND: Despite evidence supporting the benefits of cannabinoids for symptom control across a wide range of medical conditions, concerns have been raised regarding the potential misuse and/or problematic use of cannabinoids (CBs). OBJECTIVE: The first objective of this study was to examine the incidence of problematic prescription cannabinoid use (PPCBU) over a 12-month period among patients initiating cannabinoid therapy. The second objective was to examine the factors associated with PPCBU...

OBJECTIVE: As the United States grapples with an opioid epidemic, expanding access to effective treatment for opioid use disorder is a major public health priority. Identifying effective policy tools that can be used to expand access to care is critically important. This article examines the relationship between state-targeted funding and technical assistance and adoption of three medications for treating opioid use disorder: oral naltrexone, injectable naltrexone, and buprenorphine. METHODS: This study draws from the 2013-2014 wave of the National Drug Abuse Treatment System Survey, a nationally representative, longitudinal study of substance use disorder treatment programs...